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Founded in 1999, our company name ROBOTIS (ROBOTIS = "ROBOT IS...") derived from a simple response to the philosophical question “What is a robot?” and since then we have been commercializing personal robots. In 1969 robots were first put into the manufacturing industry, and as we entered the 21st century they were put into factories, working for humanity in a variety of specialties ranging from medical, defense, security, logistics and agriculture. The so-called professional service robot era has opened and is now running for the personal service robot era with technologies such as A.I. and HRI.

Upon entering the “Robotization” era where all business fields are applying robotics, ROBOTIS contributes to sharing and spreading technology among robot developers by offering a modularized and standardized solution for robot technology.

Dynamixel

Dynamixel is versatile. The actuators have been used in a wide variety of applications, from humanoid robots to manipulators.

Dynamixel is integrated. Each Dynamixel unit features DC motor, controller, driver, sensor, reduction gear, and network integrated into one module.

Dynamixel is modular, expandable, and reconfigurable. The actuators can be used for any system to fit the user's needs and the system can be easily modified.

Dynamixels are driven by digital packet communication. The main communication protocol is half-duplex UART (8-bit, no parity, 1 stop). It supports TTL, RS485, or CAN networks. Dynamixel communicates with the main controller by sending and receiving packets of data on a bus.

Dynamixels can be daisy chained. Multiple Dynamixels can be wired together, allowing for easy system expansion.

Each Dynamixel contains a Control Table consisting of data (registers) that are readable and writable. Readable registers can provide feedback regarding the status of Dynamixel, including information regarding internal temperature, position, speed, torque, voltage, etc. By enabling the Alarm Shutdown and Alarm LED registers, Dynamixel can protect itself against overheating, overload, etc.

Dynamixels are energy efficient and stable. They are powered by high voltage and consume low current.

The dynamixel_sdk is a ROS wrapper for the ROBOTIS Dynamixel SDK. The ROBOTIS Dynamixel SDK is a software development library that provides Dynamixel control functions for packet communication. The dynamixel_workbench is dynamixel solution for ROS. This metapackage allows you to easily change the ID, baudrate and operating mode of the Dynamixel. Furthermore, it supports various controllers based on operating mode and Dynamixel SDK. The API is designed for Dynamixel actuators and Dynamixel-based platforms like TurtleBot3, OpenManipulator, ROBOTIS OP3, THORMANG3, MANIPULATOR-H, RH_P12_RN.

Platforms

Dynamixel system offers the best and most optimized environment for building a robot system. Robot developers use Dynamixel actuators to build robots in various forms, such as manipulators, robot hands, mobile robots, and articulated robots, including humanoid robots.

TurtleBot3 is a new generation mobile robot that is modular, compact and customizable. Let’s explore ROS and create exciting applications for education, research, and product development. The goal of TurtleBot3 is to drastically reduce the size and lower the price of the platform without sacrificing capability, functionality, and quality. Optional parts such as chassis, computers, and sensors are available, and TurtleBot3 can be customized in various ways. TurtleBot3 is willing to be in the center of the maker movement by applying the latest technical advances of the SBC(Single Board Computer), the Depth sensor and 3D printing technology.

OpenManipulator is a full open robot platform consisting of OpenSoftware, OpenHardware and OpenCR(Embedded board). OpenManipulator is based on ROS and OpenSource. ROS official hardware platform, TurtleBot series has been supporting TurtleBot Arm. The OpenManipulator has full hardware compatibility with TurtleBot3, and allows users to control it more easily by linking with the MoveIt! package. Even if you do not have a real robot, you can control the robot in the Gazebo simulator.

ROBOTIS OP3 is the latest miniature humanoid robot platform from ROBOTIS that succeeds ROBOTIS OP(aka “DARWIN OP”) and ROBOTIS OP2(aka “DARWIN 2” or “DARWIN OP2”). One of the noticeable changes of ROBOTIS OP3 is made in actuator by replacing MX-28 actuators with XM-430 actuators. Another significant change is also made in internal PC by replacing Atom based SBC(Single Board Computer) with Intel i3 based NUC. With the XM-430 which supports Dynamixel Protocol 2.0, OP3 has improved torque along with current based control and loaded with various functions. Intel NUC allows highly improved computing power that supports 64-bit OS and Bluetooth 4.1. In addition, OP3 is developed under ROS(Robot Operating System) to utilize various packages in ROS ecosystem. All these hardware improvements and ROS support allows developers to focus more on research and development compare to the preceding robots.

THORMANG3 (Tactical Hazardous Operations Robot) is an affordable, full-sized humanoid robot platform based on the DYNAMIXEL PRO. With its advanced computational power, sophisticated sensors, high payload capacity, and dynamic motion ability, this humanoid platform is well-suited for use in research and education, as well as field operations, including search and rescue missions. THORMANG was a finalist at the DARPA Robotics Challenge 2015.

MANIPULATOR-H is Dynamixel PRO-based 6 DOF Manipulator. It supports modular structure for easy maintenance. So you can use it for multi-purpose, research and automation. The ArmSDK is based on Windows and Visual Studio. Also, we provide ROS packages for the MANIPULATOR-H.

RH_P12_RN is 1-DOF two-finger hand. It supports DYNAMIXEL 2.0 protocol via DYNAMIXEL BUS. This hand designed for adaptive gripping, so you can use it for adaptive gripping for various shapes of objects. Also, it supports torque control and current-based position control make it possible to pick up objects of various materials.